Saturday, Jan. 19: Armstrong — a fallen hero is still a hero

Lance Armstrong isn’t Terry Fox but he isn’t a trivial crook either. Every medal winner, in each of the seven years he won the Tour de France, has subsequently been found to have doped. Armstrong was the only one to have had chemotherapy and neurosurgery for metastasized cancer. Cheating to keep up with other cheaters isn’t a great idea but, given the circumstances, it isn’t an impossible concept to understand. Subsequently maintaining that myth to protect an organization that raised half a billion dollars for cancer research is also a poor idea but it’s another one that I can easily understand. He deserves much of the pious moralizing that is headed his way and it looks as if he’ll spend much of the next few years fighting lawsuits so he certainly won’t escape punishment. However, his worst was not so bad that it should allow us to forget that going from disseminated cancer to winning seven Tours was the greatest athletic achievement a human has ever accomplished.

There’s no doubt city residents are worried about the future of Vancouver’s arts and cultural scene, although the City of Vancouver has one of the highest per capita arts budgets of any city in Canada.

The province of B.C., however, is the lowest per capita investor in the arts of any province in Canada, a fact which has a big impact on our city’s cultural economy.

Has council’s commitment to support affordable housing development triggered Solterra’s interest in the Waldorf property? There’s absolutely no evidence to support that.

The Waldorf property is not zoned for housing. Any change could come only after the current community plan is complete and with council approval to change long-standing policies. Council’s affordability program has not triggered development along Hastings, but continuing demand for new housing in Vancouver has done so.

The 20 affordable housing pilot projects referenced in the column cannot exceed more than one per neighbourhood, by council policy, and will be modest low-rise projects near arterials. Has this program sparked a wave of speculative sales? Not according to the recent Vancouver Sun business headline that read “Vancouver real estate slowdown helps sink national housing sales forecast.”

What’s more, the city’s rental housing program uses covenants to ensure the new units remain rental for 60 years or the life of the building, whichever is longer. Hundreds of additional units have already been built and rented. The City’s push on affordable housing is part of the solution to enabling the arts to succeed in Vancouver, not part of the problem.

GEOFF MEGGS

Councillor, City of Vancouver

It is remarkable to count the number of times that mob rule, special interests and crass politics trump private property rights. The Waldorf is the latest example. The new owners of the Waldorf no doubt considered the area zoning regulations and planned accordingly.

The investors presented a plan to redevelop the property well within the existing development rules. Now their investment is being threatened by a few special interests and a mayor and council anxious to exploit public opinion in the pursuit of a few potential votes. It is no accident that our senior politicians did not include private property rights in our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

By ordering a 120-day expedited assessment of The Waldorf, Vancouver council’s remedy for the city’s “No-Fun-couver” sobriquet is “Mandatory Fun.”

ED SADOWSKI

New Westminster

I might be a voice in the wilderness, but frankly, I just don’t get all the fuss over the Waldorf.

The City and our mayor are once again jumping on a bandwagon and are saying that it should be saved because it’s supposedly a cultural icon and centre of arts.

If indeed it is, it has only been thus since it was renovated and reopened under the current management, just two and a half years ago.

It’s a business, pure and simple and visually, an eyesore, with no historical architectural merit.

If the Waldorf is to be saved as a result of action by the City, then surely there is as strong a case for saving Umberto’s Il Giardino restaurant that has been the icon it is for more than 30 years.

JOHN L. HENRY

Vancouver

The Waldorf is a very special place for us. We have been going to the Waldorf since the 1970s when the lounge was buzzing. I held my 40th birthday party in the Tiki Lounge.

My partner has stopped by the hotel every morning for years and had coffee with the owners and staff, on his way to work.

We have also watched the family struggle to keep the Waldorf going for years.

We attended weddings at the Waldorf, great summer barbecues, watched every Superbowl, Grey Cup and the 2010 Olympics.

It became quite obvious that whatever was tried, was not enough to cover expenses.

There comes a time when a business has to pull the plug, stop the financial bleeding and move on.

Evelyn Humphreys

Vancouver

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Saturday, Jan. 19: Armstrong — a fallen hero is still a hero

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